I was hyperbolic on that statement that Jerry completely sucks at drafting. He's never been bad 100% of the time. My mistake though. I forgot when it comes to your interpretation of things, it's always black or white.

If the word "FAIR' were true then he would be called AMONG THE WORST GM in sports today.

1 Playoff Win in like 18 years? Mediocrity to Suck for those 18. Yes, Jimmy bailed him out the first few so given him credit for hitting on the River.

But any fair evaluation would place him as the worst performing GM in football in over the last two decades.

My question is this -- why are they even negotiating with Spencer about a long term deal if that's not what they plan to do?

I think it's obvious an extension for Spencer is coming, they just want it at their price.

The only way a long term deal with Spencer doesn't get done is if its his choice. Maybe Spencer says "I'll play this year out and cash in next year"

Of course he's risking injury and throwing away whatever potential deal the team offered him this year, so I doubt he'd do that..

Thoughts on why this wont happen?

If you get get him locked into a lowball contract, say 4 years 25 mil which is similar to what Dumervil recieved, why not. That averages out to apx 6 mil a year which is managable money even if his play declines toward the end of his contract. That doesn't stop you from drafting a guy in the 2nd or third round and let them develop, like a Tank Carradine if he make is that far, and is also veteran insurance incase Ware goes down on the other side. Works out especially well if he agrees to performance incentives targeted to his later years so it is perform or not get paid as much, then he is out the door before that age of 33.

If he wants to get those $$$$ let him play out his franchise tender and plan accordingly to replace him the next season. Either way talking doesnt hurt the situation.

Yeah, I realize over the first 3 years Flacco gets more money or whatever so people are trying to say not to focus on the guarantee but I just can't agree with that.

No way he should have got more than Flacco in guaranteed money. And his 18 mil annual salary is a big high for my taste too.

I feel like 47 mil guaranteed with a per year avg of 15-16 mil would have been more appropriate. Especially considering the way the season ended.

Oh well. Looks like we're all in on Tony -- a bet that's beyond risky.

Jerry playing with fire on just about every move this offseason (Ryan/Kiffin, Spencer, Romo)

You do realize there are 2 parties negotiating here right? If Romo says no to what you think hes worth, then what? Let him walk? You better believe if he were to become a FA he would have got at least what we signed him for. Even if he did say yes to what you think hes worth, does that mean we arent "all in" with Romo cuz he signed for a little less? Maybe we should go back to the post Aikman/pre Romo years to get a true sense of what sucky QB play really is.

It's understandable why Romo got more guaranteed money than Flacco but less overall. He's older and the last 3 years of his contract are totally voidable. He's never gonna see that $19.5M in 2018 and $20.5M in 2019...unless he's winning SBs. So Romo wanted more guaranteed. Unlike Flacco who has no thinkable reason to have the same worry.

Yeah people are going nuts over the deal for no real reason. If he plays at a top 5 level he sees the end of the deal and everyone is happy. If he doesn't and Dallas is successful in developing an capable alternative he can be let go prior to the end of the deal.

There's a huge reason why the last two years of the deal 2018 & 2019 have massive base salaries... Dallas can restructure his contract in 2014 AND 2015 to free up cap space without crippling their ability to cut him if he isn't a Superbowl MVP by then.

Yeah people are going nuts over the deal for no real reason. If he plays at a top 5 level he sees the end of the deal and everyone is happy. If he doesn't and Dallas is successful in developing an capable alternative he can be let go prior to the end of the deal.

There's a huge reason why the last two years of the deal 2018 & 2019 have massive base salaries... Dallas can restructure his contract in 2014 AND 2015 to free up cap space without crippling their ability to cut him if he isn't a Superbowl MVP by then.

Jason La Canfora ‏@JasonLaCanfora 7m
On the Romo contract, the true full guarantee is $40M. He gets $26.5M in 1st yr of deal, $57M in 1st 3 yrs. He gets $40M in 1st 2yrs of deal

I'll openly question any list that has the Oakland Raiders at the bottom of spending. If they were that far under next season, they wouldn't have had to gut their team to the extent they did this year. More dead money would be rolling over to next season.

Guaranteed he'll be restructured the first two years. Cut about 13 million in 2014 when he restructures. Doug Free will be cut so there's another 11 million-ish. DeMarcus Ware will be restructured another 11 million-ish. That's 35 million off that number without even breaking into a sweat. So we're down to 113 with 6 million to go.

That's 13 million more off the cap. Down to 100 million with enough room to sign all rookies and make other moves. All numbers were rounded up and down to make things equaled. We are hardly in cap hell.

Come 2015 you can cut Ratliff and Miles if they aren't up to snuff for cap saves. Restructure Romo again.

Stephen Jones has done a nice job working around the restrictions of a flat cap. We absolutely NEED to hit on draft picks this year and the next to provide impact players for low cost. The CBA has made it so that teams that hit in the draft have an EXTREME advantage over those who draft poorly.